Eye of the Manticore by Keith Robinson

Author:Keith Robinson [Robinson, Keith]
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Tags: Action & Adventure, Boys, Fantasy, Magic, Young Adult
Publisher: Unearthly Tales
Published: 2015-02-11T05:00:00+00:00

Chapter Ten

Shapeshifting classmates

Thomas waited silently as a lone figure approached. He recognized the tall boy from the other day. The shorter one must be lagging behind.

After the tall boy passed mere feet away, Thomas stepped out and arched his tail over his head, putting some pressure on the tip so that his quills bristled and stood on end.

The boy must have heard because he spun around, his eyes widening. He let out a piercing shriek.

Nothing about that surprised Thomas, but what made him step back in shock was the way the tall, skinny boy began to grow in width and height. His shriek continued, but it changed in pitch, deepening, becoming low and mournful as he grew to three times his usual height, his clothes stretching and tearing.

Dumbfounded, Thomas stared at the transformation, his quills and stinger momentarily forgotten. The creature manifesting before him was an ogre! He’d seen a few before; sometimes they tramped though the forest back home. This one was young, only fifteen feet tall but still formidable.

When the transformation was complete, the ogre stared at him with big brown eyes and a puzzled expression.

Then it charged.

Instinctively, Thomas shot off some quills, a few finding their mark and sticking into the shaggy monster’s arms and chest. It hardly noticed, though, and began pummeling Thomas with enormous fists.

Angrily, he clawed at the ogre and swung his tail around, sticking the monster with more quills. It roared and moaned, then staggered, now feeling the effects of the dulling poison. It swung its fists again, then turned and stumbled away, crashing through the bushes and thudding into trees as it went.

Stunned and shaken, Thomas shook his head and composed himself. His first kill hadn’t gone as well as he’d expected. Still, the other boy was back there somewhere, assuming the ogre hadn’t flattened him during its mad, clumsy dash to safety. Thomas set off after it, following in its path of destruction, hunger gnawing at him again.

He slowed when he heard the hushed, excited voice of the other boy ahead. “. . . He has these moments of amazing strength. That’s his secret. Once, he burst right out of his shirt. I guess something must have frightened him, and he changed into . . . into that thing that ran past us.”

“But what frightened him?” another voice said, this one sounding like a girl. “The red-faced monster?”

Thomas scowled, knowing it was him they were talking about now. Red-faced monster? All right, if they wanted a monster, he’d show them one.

He crept closer, circling around behind them. He heard the boy whisper something but couldn’t make out the words. It didn’t matter—they were his now. A boy and a girl, five feet away, their backs turned. He raised his tail to strike, but already they were turning to face him. Both stopped dead, their eyes widening.

Thomas paused with his tail held high. When he saw the girl’s face peeking from behind the boy’s shoulder, a memory stirred, and he held off from shooting his quills for a moment longer.

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